Monthly Archives: April 2009

Executive Summary

o‘Bringing Beijing to BluePrint’ campaign began on the 9th of August 2008 to the 24th of August. The event was created as part of a PR strategy to provide a solution to the clubs financial problem by encouraging people to come in during the day.

oBluePrint Bars is a newly opened venue situation next to the Central Milton Keynes Train station.

oSales revenues were not exceeding overhead costs thus action had to be taken.

oThe campaign was very successful with a dramatic increase of 58% during the day and a pleasurable increase of 29.3% during club nights. Weekday nights are still a big problem that needs professional expertise to overcome the problem. However, the campaign still increased the number of customers by 11.5%.

oThe overall buzz of mimicking the Olympic Games and supporting the British competitors at Blueprint slowly decreased as the games went on.Reasons for this could be;

§Promotional activity decreased. As the bar got busier, less staff was available to hand out flyers and speak to people outside.

§The idea of playing Wii sports and supporting the British in a bar becoming a normality – previous customers might have lost excitement in the idea

§Customers might have preferred to support the British competitors at home by watching the games.

oThe campaign was another small idea used to try and bring customers in but it was surprisingly successful. However, the number of customers that entered are still not enough to cover overheard costs and earn a profit

1. Introduction

The report is written by Giselle Tadman to evaluate the ‘Bringing Beijing to BluePrint’ campaign that began on the 9th of August 2008 to the 24th of August. The event was created as part of a PR strategy to provide a solution to the clubs financial problem by encouraging people to come in during the day.

1.1Problem

oBlueprint bar officially opened to the public on 20th June 2008 in Milton Keynes.The venue is a café/restaurant/bar during the days and a nightclub on Thursday, Friday and Saturday evenings. The opening night was successful with 250 guests entering the club. However, the following month and a half the bar failed to attract enough customers and was losing profit. Several employees were cut to cover losses. The main loss of income came from during the day, between 11am and 6pm. The average number of customers that came in during the day was 12 and 78 in the evenings with the exception of the weekends where the average was 130.

oSales revenues were not exceeding overhead costs thus action had to be taken.

2. Facts

2.1. Results

oDuring the event data was collected by doing visual counts during the day from managers and bouncers in the evening using a small counting device.

oNumber of customers were counted during the day

oNumber of customers were counted in the evening

oOpening and closing hours differed depending on what day

oOn Sundays, Mondays, Tuesdays and Wednesdays the bar was open from 11am till 12pm

oOn Thursday, Fridays and Saturdays the bar was open from 11am to 4am

3.Analysis of factual material

3.1 Statistical analysis

oThe average number of customers that entered between 8th August and 24th August 2008 during the evening – 87

oThe average number of customers that entered between 8th August and 24th August 2008 during the day – 19

oThe average number of customers that entered between 8th August and 24th August 2008, only on club nights was 168

3.2 Trend Analysis

oFor customers entering in the evening, the graph shows the highest numbers were during the weekends.

oFor customers entering during the day, the graph shows little variation throughout the week.

oBluePrint had the highest number of customers during the weekends – club nights.

oAs the Olympic Games went on the number of customers entering decreased.

3.3 Comparing data prior ‘Bringing Beijing to Blue Print’ campaign

oResults show that the average number of customers BluePrint had between 8th August and 24th August 2008 during the evening increased by 11.5 %.

oResults show that the average number of customers that entered between 8th August and 24th August 2008 during the day increased by 58.3%.

oResults show that average number of customers that entered between 8th August and 24th August 2008, only on club nights increased by 29.3 %.

4. Evaluation

When looking at the numbers first hand, the improvements appear small. However, in terms of statistics the results show large increases in the number of customers coming in. Although the differences are small, for BluePrint bar they are significant as getting in customers is extremely difficult.

The campaign was very successful with a dramatic increase of 58% during the day and a pleasurable increase of 29.3% during club nights. Weekday nights are still a big problem that needs professional expertise to overcome the problem. However, the campaign still increased the number of customers by 11.5%.

Initially, people were very excited about the prospect of having the Wii Sports set up on the projector screen for everyone to play with. The idea of playing computer games, drink alcohol, support Britain and have a laugh was very appealing to people around the area, especially workers who wanted to relax straight after work or whilst during a break.

The overall buzz of mimicking the Olympic Games and supporting the British competitors at Blueprint slowly decreased as the games went on.Reasons for this could be;

oPromotional activity decreased. As the bar got busier, less staff was available to hand out flyers and speak to people outside.

oThe idea of playing Wii sports and supporting the British in a bar became a normality – people might have lost excitement in the idea

oPeople might have preferred to support the British competitors at home by watching the games.

5. Recommendations’

The campaign was another small idea used to try and bring customers in but it was surprisingly successful. However, the number of customers that entered is still not enough to cover overheard costs and earn a profit. Several things are recommended;

oBluePrint should invest in professional PR help and use stronger tactics and strategies to promote the club.

oThe location has posed a problem being far from the main location of nightclubs and bars. Thoughts should be made about what it can do to bring customers from he main nightclub area to its bar.

oIt has a good vision for the club however with the current economical crisis an up-market exclusive bar would not go very far. To earn a profit, it should Re-brand to an adult and gay friendly bar as this seems to be the majority of customers. The bar appeals to this audience because it’s safer and less crowded around that area.

For this portfolio piece, I am going to critically discuss and analyse the breaking news story of ex RBS Chief Sir Fred Goodwin and his pension. The discussion will centre on what angles the forms of media, I have chosen, take. Are they angry at the Government or The Royal Bank of Scotland? I have taken examples from different forms of media and will also describe how it and why it made the news.

Firstly, I will analyse why the story made news. It was announced on the 25th February 2008 that Sir Fred Goodwin would be receiving a £650,000 a year pension after he stepped down as the RBS CEO in November 2008. Prior to the story being published, RBS announced a possible record loss of 28 Billion and had been nationalised by the government after buying shares worth £20 billion resulting in the tax-payers owning 70% of the company.

It can be argued, that it is for these reasons, the news of his pension was breaking news. It was a controversial issue, causing uproar and anger amongst the government and people. It was thought amongst the majority, that he did not deserve the pension considering he brought the company into near death after purchasing the Dutch Bank ABN Amro and once again leaving the tax-payers to save the bank. The fact that the Government knew about the pension made it more controversial.

The story adheres to Galtung and Rouge’s Model of Selective Gatekeeping (1965) where by it fulfils several news factors that made it worthy to appear in the media. The news values that it fulfils are personality, continuity and cultural proximity/relevance. The stories also exemplify the news value of eliteness, of people and nation. It is the main reason it makes it so newsworthy along with the controversial issues placed upon it.

Now I am going to discuss how it was reported in the forms of media I have chosen.

The story made front page on the tabloid newspaper, The Herald because of familiarity and relevance. It is a Scottish newspaper and RBS is a Scottish bank. The link can be clearly seen. The newspaper is also obliged to report on the matter to serve the community. Seemingly taking a centre/right wing stance, here it appears that the newspaper is angry at Sir Fred Goodwin. The selection of quotes used suggests this with both of them commenting on how a man ruined a ‘proud’ bank.

It can be argued that the article has taken this angle because RBS was a treasure of Scotland, something the community was economically proud of and now they are angry at the man who has ruined its reputation, and may run the risk of bringing scrutiny to Scotland – with the tax-payers paying for University student loans and tuition fees however, the article has been written in more of a factual manner with the headline “RBS pays ex-chief Goodwin £650,000 pension” suggesting this.

The story also made front page on the Daily Mirror on the 27th of February 2008. The headline “OFF WITH HIS FRED”, immediately notifies the tone of anger and violence. An attack on this figure is about to be made and is evident in the article. Throughout the article negative language is used to portray its feelings towards the ex RBS CEO. Clearly the newspaper is very angry, almost furious at the man. With derogatory and negative words being used such as, “arrogant, greedy, defy, decline, and threatened”, being used.

It could be argued the reason for this was to give an interpretation of Sir Fred Goodwin’s personality. He was always known as being “Fred the Shred” for ruthlessly generating cost savings and efficiencies whilst at Clydesdale Bank. With the Daily Mirror being a left wing paper aimed towards the working people. It could be venting its anger on behalf of the people. Those are who really affected by Royal Bank of Scotland’s failure. Its share price fell from a peak £17 per share to a mere 44p in a year. Those who invested in the bank lost so much money. The people have a reason to be angry and Sir Fred Goodwin did not deserve the pension, are the views that are being interpreted.

The Guardian newspaper also printed the story front page and was reported in the Broadsheet because of its importance. It is a detailed account of the story and it written very factually with the content consisting of facts and figures. The reporter has taken the story and has investigated further showing different sides allowing each figure to have they’re say. From Sir Fred Goodwin claiming the government knew about the pension to the government denying it. It also includes sections of letters written between Lord Myners and the ex CEO. The article is very serious but quite objective at the same time.

It could be argued that it was written in this way because the guardian is an educational newspaper reporting on serious matters in the world. It is a favorite with students and business workers. It allows the reader to decide for themselves who to be angry at, possibly because of the newspapers liberal nature.

As with all breaking news, the TV is the first form of media to report on the story. This is why it was covered in the BBC as a news bulletin. As discussed previously, it is an important story concerning the public and fulfils several news values.

The news bulletin was edited in the form of a mini documentary of Sir Fred Goodwin. Giving a brief description of his history, what he has done and what’s happening with him now. It appears to be factual bulletin with the purpose of being objective and letting the public know of the story. It centres on whether he deserves the pension. However, on closer analysis, strong emotive words arse used such as “exclusive, huge and catastrophic”, to create an emotional response from the audience thus allowing the reporters subjective opinion to come through.

TV news purpose is to give all the information and report on the news and be not to be subjective. They have to be objective in the way they report the news. The tone and the way the news reporter speaks, connotates this. However, as discussed the language used veers away from the usual procedure. It is similar to the Guardian in that it allows the audience to form they’re own conclusion.

On the BBC online website, it has been reported from a political angle, writing an account of the government’s involvement in the story. It allows the opinions of other government parties to have they’re say and again, forces the reader to make a political decision on whom to be angry at.

The main reason for this approach is because it was published in the BBC website politics section therefore it has to focus largely on the politics side of the story.

To conclude, going through the analysis, all of the media I have chosen has perceived the story to be breaking news worthy. This is shown by placing them on the front page or putting the effort in to create a mini documentary.

In my opinion the story was news worthy and significant because I believe it was a ridiculous amount of money and unfair to be given to someone who, through his arrogance and overconfidence, let a business fall. With the consequence of making the hard working tax paying citizens, like myself, take the fall for him. He should have voluntarily given some of his money to help out the bank.

Though now, after reading my conclusion, I have come to think that although the forms of media appeared to be objective in the style It was written, some of he language suggest subjectivity and now I question whether the reason I believe the story is significant, is of my own opinion, or influence from the forms of media.

As one guy commented in the news bulletin “no one battered an eyelid when the company was doing well”. Maybe Sir Fred Goodwin deserved his pension after the hard work he did in significantly raising Royal Bank of Scotland’s profile to be one of the 5th largest banks in the world during its time of success. None have appeared to come from the angle of supporting Sir Fred Goodwin by giving a detailed account of his achievements which could have had the effect of influencing the audience to support his decision to keep his pension

Good news to students! There’s some good things to come from the credit crunch, it seems it lowers our loan repayments! Weyyy.

Technically, If the interest rates of our student loan repayment is set at the rate of inflation, which currently is negative at 0.4 % then say £1000 was borrowed only £996 should have to be paid back.

I’ve been thinking this for a while and then came accross a money saving expert article and was pleased to find it agreed :-).

At first i thought Facebook was just another website where i could be nosy and pass the time by in moments of extreme boredom. Now however, I’m starting to see the light. In the last couple of weeks relatives i have forgotten about have added me and I’ve been talking to them regularly since. I haven’t spoken to them since i was 12!

I think Facebook is a great communication tool. With features such as ‘comment’, ‘like’ and facebook chat. It really helps to make us feel closer and more involved with the other person.

I don’t know if I’m being overly emotional or sentimental but i feel a lot closer to my family now since I’ve interacted with them through facebook.

I also quite like the creation of twitter. Reading celebrities posts makes me realise that they’re just like us normal people. The media fabricate this image of celebrities that make them viewed as the elite and untouchable. So before when i thought of say Brad Pitt, i imagined him doing something really glamorous all the time when in reality he does normal stuff such as change stinky nappies and play with his children.

As silly as it sounds, i also like the idea of being connected to really important people lol. Obama requested to follow me the other day, that was an honour! lol.

Still, i wont be logging onto it every second of the day. There is work to be done! Portfolio’s, presentations, exams, ahhhhhhhhh!